Sunday, May 10, 2009

Targoviste dog show, May 9th 2009

My first dog show!!!!!!!!

Mom says I did perfect, but she made some handling mistakes in the ring and I got Exc 2 as a result. But mom congratulated me for working perfect in a scorching heat! After that, when I was extremely tired, we did a small freestyle demonstration for some friends. They applauded us!

Mom told me I did so well and she is heartbroken for those mistakes.

After that, a kid was working with his Romanian Shepherd Dog who was taller than the kid, tired, and refused to work. I was extremely tired too, yet mom offered to help by letting the kid work with me for his junior handling competition. She also offered to let him show me. The kid was in heaven, I heel perfectly and I worked great with him. His parents had scolded him so heavily that he was almost in tears, that's when mom stepped in, and offered our help. The kid was ecstatic after having worked with me. He sat near me and hugged me, kissed me and asked his parents to show me. It didn't happen, they left. I am sorry for the very young kid, he was 7.

8 comments:

  1. Emma! You did well on your 1st try. Everybody who is a newby & who is just learning how to show will ALWAYS make mistakes just like my hoomans! Till today, they still do. But tell your Mom, don't feel defeated. There are many more shows coming up & you can keep entering till you eventually win your title. It doesn't matter how long it takes. You got loads of time. But the most important thing is that you both have fun! Don't take it too seriously like some of them handlers in shows are. But I guess they have been doing for years so they're used to being like that. Always ask for tips from other breeders or show handlers. There will be some who are not willing to help a newby but it doesn't matter. Whatever information or tips you can get from them is good enough to help your Mom improve her handling & so on. Would love to see pictures if you have any.

    Smoochies,
    Solid Gold Dancer

    Pee/s: Check out my puppers' 1st bubble bath experience.

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  2. ohhh woow! congratulations!!!! :)
    you´re such a sweet girl :) did you take some pictures?
    and tell your mommy that´s ok, she was probably nerves too :) next time it will go better. I´m sure you two make a great team!

    Big Licks
    Pu

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  3. Hi Amber-Mae
    I know I did perfect, and that is why mom was so upset because we were both tired, yet I worked perfectly and she didn't. I kissed mom after that because I feel sorry for her. She told me I am the perfect pup! She always tells me that anyway.

    You are right, we should not take it seriously. And after that we didn't. We went to a nice place near the rings, with lots of shade and we played with other Golden Retrievers.

    Hi Sara
    Thank you a lot for your nice words. Mom was not nervous, but the judge was - he was pissed off big time by the time we entered the ring. He yelled at ring stewards because they were making terrible mistakes.

    We learned a lot this show, we won't be making the same mistakes (well I didn't make any...) .


    Big hugs for all

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  4. Emma, you're right about the pups. It is too early to tell. But we need not make any evaluation on them to pick the ones we want. Their personalities are already showing very clearly at this age. And also, you cannot tell a pup whether it's show potential or not till the age of 9 months old or so I read online. That's why sometimes, even the most experienced breeders with how many years of breeding & exhibiting also make mistakes when picking a show quality pup just like the sire's owner. He is now unsure about the male pup he picked out from one of his litters as the pup is now growing up & now showing signs, beahaviour, character or structure that is not what he's hoping for. I saw the puppy myself. He is extremely terrified when being handled & when he gaits, his tail is not up & flagging. It's down showing signs that he's not confident. He's a nice pup but with the tail like that, it's a major fault as Goldens should not be shy or scared. Megan has the perfect eyes & head for conformation show & her coat is extremely beautiful. All the buyers who came to view them will 1st point out to Megan-Joy & say she has beautiful, even coloration coat. She does not have blotches of lighter colored fur here & there like the others. That's why we picked her but when she grows up, I cannot tell if she will have good structure or not as she's still too young to tell. Even at 8 weeks old, you cannot guarantee that the pup will still have the same structure when it grows up. We're keeping Orion because his coat is lovely but then again, it might not be as lovely as when his adult coat grows out. So again, we cannot tell. I am judging based on his eyes & head. His head is not as broad or as big as River but his eyes are not as mad looking as River & he's a sweety. River has very nice head but I'm not into a manly looking male you see & his eyes are too big like Amber's. I'm pretty sure River will have good chances in winning in shows. We're encouraging all owners to participate in shows so that atleast Amber's puppies are winning something. So yeah, that's that...

    Love,
    Melissa

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  5. Hi Melissa,

    It is a very difficult job to assess a puppy. Coat is not something you should judge on, it's puppy coat. So is color, Goldens are lighter in color as puppies, and as they grow up they tend to darken up.

    I'd like to see pups stacked when they are 8 weeks old...just for the sake of exercising my judgment and learn (of course it will take about 2 years to see if I was right).

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  7. Hi again. Actually, the coat is not important to us nor the color but the personality, disposition & structure comes 1st. We are attached to Megan & Orion(is now named River) the moment they hit 1 month old because their personality & disposition showed & it suits what we're looking for in a dog & our household. Tia actually has a beautiful structure & angulation with a straight back(the rest, not so straight but may straighten as they grow older) but she's too rambunctious for our household. We are mainly looking for a pup that is show quality but then, we are also looking for the two pups that suit us best(calm that is). We won't just go too much for structure or looks but the personality & disposition is up-most important. Yes, I know all male pups are quite fair when they're puppies but will darken later.

    I will try to take pictures of them stacking before they go. But it's hard to take pictures of a puppy stacking when they're moving too much so usually most people will just take a video.

    Smoochies,
    Solid Gold Dancer + Puppies

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  8. Hi Melissa,

    I know it's difficult to assess them because they are all so cute :) A video is even better when it comes to stacking pups because they never stand still :)

    Big hugs to you and the pups

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